Finding the best car insurance for you

Every time someone writes a “best of” list about money stuff, the answer ultimately is “it depends on you.” Well, when it comes to finding the best car insurance, the answer is … the same! But, listen, that’s not a cop out. Car insurance is complicated. For starters, there are all these different coverages you can roll under one policy. And there are state-by-state minimums that mandate how much car insurance you have to have. (Yes, it’s illegal to drive in almost every state without any, the exceptions being New Hampshire and Virginia.) Beyond that, pretty much everything affects how much car insurance costs you — your age, gender, credit score, exact zip code. The list goes on and on.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any guidelines for you to follow. Some companies are better at car insurance than others, whether because they offer better rates, ample car insurance discount opportunities, renowned customer service or simply specialize in the area. Plus, ratings agency A.M. Best scores insurers by how financially sound they are in general. So, there are few ways to narrow down the best car insurance companies at least, even if there’s no way to definitively say who will offer you the absolute best policy. Further complicating things, some insurance companies don’t service every single state.

The Best Car Insurance Companies

You can get an idea of how the major car insurance companies stack up against one another via the chart below, which includes their 2016 J.D. Power Claims Satisfaction Rating, A.M. Best Rating and total market share.

A few methodology notes:

J.D. Power results are listed by designation. It uses four of them: among the best; better than most; about average; and the rest. It also declares an overall winner. Overall performance is calculated on a 1,000-point scale. The top five car insurance companies are as follows:

The Hartford: 891

Erie Insurance: 886

Auto-Owners Insurance: 885

American Family: 874

Nationwide: 874

A.M. Best ratings represent financial health. A++ and A+ are considered superior, while A and A- are considered excellent. There are five other designations for active companies: good (B++, B+), fair (B, B-), marginal (C++, C+), weak (C, C-) and poor (D).

How to Choose the Best Car Insurance for You

Picking a company known for good customer service, affordable rates, sound financial health and more is important. But when shopping for car insurance, you also need to consider how your drive. Standard policies are complicated enough, but there’s also non-owner’s car insurance (for people who drive frequently, but don’t have a ride of their own), gap insurance (to cover the gap between what you owe on your car and its actual value), rideshare insurance (for all those Uber and Lyft drivers out there), rental car insurance (for those cross-country drives) and more. Plus, just like with life insurance, some auto insurers might be more (or less) accommodating to different scenarios. That’s why it’s crucial to compare quotes across companies, no matter what type of policy you’re shopping for. You can learn more about doing an auto insurance quote comparision here. Meanwhile, we can help you learn more about what car insurance is best for specific situations below.

Yes, we have to include some legalese down here. Read it larger on our legal page. Policygenius Inc. (“Policygenius”) is a licensed independent insurance broker. Policygenius does not underwrite any insurance policy described on this website. The information provided on this site has been developed by Policygenius for general informational and educational purposes. We do our best efforts to ensure that this information is up-to-date and accurate. Any insurance policy premium quotes or ranges displayed are non-binding. The final insurance policy premium for any policy is determined by the underwriting insurance company following application. Savings are estimated by comparing the highest and lowest price for a shopper in a given health class. For example: for a 30-year old non-smoker male in South Carolina with excellent health and a preferred plus health class, comparing quotes for a $500,000, 20-year term life policy, the price difference between the lowest and highest quotes is 60%. For that same shopper in New York, the price difference is 40%. Rates are subject to change and are valid as of 2/17/17.